Remember When Obama Said Detroit Was Coming Back?The president’s address that year was about a city that can only be described as a myth wrapped in a wish inside a dream.”

Even the non-thinking many realize today’s Barack Obama publicity stunts are nothing about nothing.

Barack is such an embarrassment. He dabbles. If he'd been forced to finish his first term in the US Senate before running for the presidency, he would have never been elected. He lacks the ability to follow up on anything. He was made the chair of the subcommittee (of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) over Afghanistan and he never held a single hearing.

He was completely clueless and had no drive or focus.

And that's all obvious today.

But a lot of White people wanted to feel good about themselves and a lot of Black people wanted to delude themselves and so we got the pipsqueak as president.

And now we all suffer.

At the end of the 8 years, I'm sure there will still be some who insist Barack was blocked by Bush. They'll still pretend that was why Barack couldn't achieve anything, couldn't get any results.

Barack is an utter failure.

He demonstrated that in his first term and he's already making it clear in his second as well.

I keep telling myself, three more years and then that ridiculously greedy family is out of the White House, three more years.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, the prison break
prompts more commentary about the state of Iraq, there's a call for
Nouri to step down, Ed Snowden is not issued temporary asylum in Russia,
Senator Patty Murray continues fighting for veterans, and more.

Sami Zaatari (Digital Journal) notes
it was announced today that NSA whistle-blower Ed Snowden was receiving
"the whistleblower award by the German branch of the human rights
organisation Transparency International." Deutsche Welle notes in a video report:Hans Pfeifer: Those awarding the prize haven't yet said Edward
Snowden is aware he's the recipeiant. Snowden hasn't been easy to
contact while marooned at Moscow Airport. For civil rights campaigners,
Snowden's case is a scandal. They say he is being persecuted like a
criminal for acting in the public interest. Edda Muller (Transparency International): He's not a pedophile and
he's not a person who has committed criminal acts. He's not a tax
evader. He's simply a person who has uncovered some uncomfortable
truths. Hans Pfiefer: The prize is not only in tribute to Snowden's
whistle-blowing, it's also to put pressure on the German government to
offer protection to the former IT contractor.Edda Muller: We would welcome it very much if Snowden were granted
asylum in Germany or were taken into a witness protection program so
that a genuine investigation could be undertaken here into what's
actually going on there.Hans Pfiefer: But Chancellor [Angela] Merkel has ruled out help for
Snowden. In a brief statement last week, she said he was not eligible
for asylum in Germany.

Hopefully, this is something that won't be taken away. This morning,
there were reports that Ed Snowden had some success on the asylum
front. Jim Ensom (Voice of Russia) reports, "Former CIA contractor-turned whistle blower Edward Snowden
has been given temporary asylum in Russia. His papers from the Federal
Migration Service;were delivered to him in the transit zone of Moscow's
Sheremetyevo airport on Wednesday, allowing him to leave the airport
transit zone." The Irish Independent adds, "FORMER U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was today
granted documents that will allow him to leave a Moscow airport where
he is holed up, an airport source said."

BBC News reports:Mr Kucherena visited his client at the airport on Wednesday and told a
news conference later that the 30-year-old would not yet be leaving the
airport.He said the application for temporary asylum had not been processed, and no travel documents had been received."He is not planning to leave for now. He asked for temporary
asylum, which in the case of a positive decision is granted for a term
of one year," said Mr Kucherena.

MR. CARNEY: Thank you, Darlene. We have seen reports of the nature
you just described and of both kinds, and we are seeking clarity from
Russian authorities about Mr. Snowden’s status and any change in it.
But beyond that, I don't have any more information. And I can say that
our position on Mr. Snowden remains what it was, which is that he is
neither a human rights activist, nor a dissident. He’s been charged
with serious felonies for the unauthorized leaking of highly classified
information, and there is ample precedent and legal justification for
him to be returned to the United States where he will face trial with
all the rights and protections afforded defendants in the United States
of America.

Q Jay, what steps is the President prepared to take today to stop
Edward Snowden from getting somewhere if he should be on the move?

MR. CARNEY: We've made our position clear to the Russian government,
to Russian authorities, and we'll continue to do that. It is
absolutely our view that Mr. Snowden should be expelled and returned to
the United States. And that's a message we've communicated both
publicly and privately to the Russians, and I'm sure we will continue to
do that.

Q I mean beyond -- if he were to leave Russia on a plane, I
suppose, what steps is the United States prepared to take to stop him
from getting wherever he goes? There was the incident with the Bolivian
President’s plane and all that.

MR. CARNEY: There’s a series of hypotheticals in there that I don't
think I should address or need to address because even today’s reports
don't suggest that that is what might be happening. I think today’s
reports -- which are contradictory, as Darlene noted -- suggested that
he might be leaving the transit area of the airport and entering Russia
proper. But again, we've just seen the press reports, both those that
say that might be happening and those that say it’s not happening, and
we're seeking clarification from Russian officials.But again, we've just seen the press reports, both those that say
that might be happening and those that say it is not happening. And
we're seeking clarification from Russian officials.

Q Jay, you said you're seeking clarification. Will you be able to brief us or give us an update later today?

MR. CARNEY: We'll obviously see if further information is
available. But I think it's certainly the case that your colleagues who
are Moscow-based could also inquire of the Russian government if
there's any new information to be imparted.

Q Any update on whether President Obama will meet with President Putin in Moscow on the sidelines of the G20?

MR. CARNEY: Well, the G20 is in St. Petersburg, so that would be a
very wide sideline. But the President intends to travel to Russia for
the G20 Summit, and as I've noted in the past, I have no further
announcements to make about that travel.

QUESTION: What’s your understanding of the situation of Mr. Snowden at the moment?MS. PSAKI: Thank you for your question. I suspected this might
be on your minds today. We have seen, of course, the press reports and
are seeking clarification from the Russian Government. Obviously, any
move that would allow Mr. Snowden to depart the airport would be deeply
disappointing.I also have another update for all of you. The Secretary spoke with
Foreign Minister Lavrov this morning. He reiterated our belief, the
belief of the United States, that Mr. Snowden needs to be returned to
the United States where he will have a fair trial, that Russia still has
the ability to do the right thing, and that call happened just late
this morning.QUESTION: So have you – who sought the clarification?
Secretary Kerry sought clarification from Foreign Minister Lavrov in
their conversation?MS. PSAKI: Well, we are still seeking an update on the exact
status. Our understanding is he’s still in the transit lounge, but for
any update or announcement on the Russian Government’s steps, I would
point you to them.

QUESTION: Well, I understand that, but Lavrov did not clarify
things to the Secretary in their phone call? Did he, or did he not?MS. PSAKI: I just don’t have any more on the phone call to read out for all of you.QUESTION: So you’re basing – when you say you’ve seen the reports, you’ve seen that his lawyer went to visit him?MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.QUESTION: About 10 days ago, two weeks ago when the human
rights activists went in to see Mr. Snowden, into the transit lounge,
you expressed disappointment that the Russians had facilitated this
meeting, which turned into what you called a propaganda platform. I’m
just wondering if you have a similar problem with the lawyer going to
see him today.MS. PSAKI: I would not compare all options. I believe at the
time what we were most concerned about was the steps by the Russian
Government to facilitate that event, which we expressed our concerns --QUESTION: Right.MS. PSAKI: -- about, as you know, but beyond that, our focus
is on encouraging Russia to do the right thing and return Mr. Snowden to
the United States.QUESTION: Okay, but you don’t have any problem with them allowing this guy in to see him today. Is that correct?MS. PSAKI: That’s not our focus.QUESTION: Does that mean that you don’t have a problem with it?MS. PSAKI: I don’t think I expressed a problem about it.
While Ed Snowden was asked of, Iraq was not raised at either the State
Dept press briefing or Carney's Air Force One briefing. This despite
the fact that US officials say Iraq is now in the midst of a civil war.
From Tuesday's Today (NBC):

Richard Engel: Iraq is now back in a civil war, US officials tell NBC
News. The hard fought US surge there, the benefits of American war to
stop Iraq's civil war, are being wiped out. In car bombs, ambushes and
gun fights more than 250 killed in ten days. Abu Ghraib prison
notorious for American abuses and humiliations that United States [. .
.] remains an open wound. On Sunday, attackers free hundreds some say
up to 500 inmates in a jail break include dozens of al Qaeda fighters.

The Sunday
prison attacks and breaks only became news outside of Iraq when the
number of prisoners who escaped (between 500 and one thousand) was
announced on Monday. Yesterday, the Islamic State of Iraq claimed credit for the two prison assaults and breaks. On yesterday's Nightly News with Brian Williams, Richard Engel reported on Iraq.Richard
Engel: Iraq is back in a civil war -- bad for Iraqis. More than 600
killed just this month in bombings and Sunni versus Shi'ite vengeance.
And bad for Americans -- after all nearly 4,500 US troops died to bring
stability to this strategic, oil rich country A trillion dollars was
spent, hundreds of thousands of American troops were deployed and
deployed again. But now Iraq is tearing itself apart again. al Qaeda
in Iraq won a big victory this weekend, perhaps enough to reconstitute
itself. They staged a major prison break, a major assault on Iraq's
notorious Abu Ghraib Prison. Hundreds of militants were freed from
their cells. Iraqi officials today said at least 250. al Qaeda in Iraq
puts the number even higher at 500. Militants stormed the prison, car
bombs blasting open the gates, as suicide bombers rushed in and
reinforcements fought off guards with mortars and assault rifles.
Nothing good seems to come from Abu Ghraib. It was Saddam Hussein's
dungeon. After his fall, it held US detainees and became infamous for
graphic images of prisoner abuse and humiliation. And now a prison
break releasing militants who will likely target the Iraqi government
but who also have years of training fighting American troops. Richard
Engel, NBC News.

Sunday night, just one or two hours before midnight, two prisons --
one in the north and one in the west of Baghdad -- were attacked at the
same time and the battle continued until six or seven a.m. the next
morning . At least twenty police men and soldiers were killed and at
least 26 prisoners died in these battles. But what's more important is
that hundreds of prisoners escaped from both prisoners.

Matthew Crowley: I think the most worrisome aspect of this is the
larger context: Sectarian violence in the region if flaring up, to say
the least. ... To be honest, I don't know which is worse. In other
words, should we be more concerned that al Qaeda in Iraq is strong
enough, savy enough emboldened enough that they would stage these
attacks? Or is the more concerning part that they have now freed a
large number of their hardened brothers in arms who had been taken off
the battlefield, so to speak? And incidentally one expert on Iraq to
whome I spoke with something called the Institute for the Study of War
here in Washington, a former army intelligence officer, said that al
Qaeda leaders in these prisons actually become more radicalized when
they're in prison. In fact, they may actually have become more
dangerous in captivity. [. . .]

Carol Hills: Most US troops pulled out of Iraq more than a year ago
and the idea was that Iraq was fairly secure. And so this prison break
can't bode well in what area. What does this mean?

LYON, France – A regional security alert has been issued by INTERPOL
at the request of Iraq following a mass breakout from two Iraqi prisons
involving hundreds of dangerous prisoners, many of them members of
Al-Qaida.During the night of 21 July, gunmen attacked the Taji
and Abu Ghraib prisons near Baghdad using mortars to gain access and
free the prisoners, killing at least 20 members of the Iraqi security
forces in the process. INTERPOL said the jailbreaks constituted a major
threat to global security.Many of the escaped prisoners were senior-level Al-Qaida members, some of whom had been sentenced to death.Following
confirmation of the escape from INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in
Baghdad, the Command and Coordination Centre at the General Secretariat
headquarters issued the alert to member countries in the region to warn
them of the threat posed by the fugitives.INTERPOL is working
closely with NCB Baghdad to collect information on the escaped
prisoners, including photographs and fingerprints, with the view to
issuing a global Orange Notice, to assist law enforcement officers
regionally and worldwide in their search and eventual identification of
the fugitives.An Orange Notice can be issued by INTERPOL’s
General Secretariat or an NCB for any act or event that poses a serious
and imminent threat to the safety of citizens around the world.A
resolution underlining the need for member countries to alert the
General Secretariat to prison escapes of suspected terrorists and other
dangerous criminals was adopted at the INTERPOL General Assembly in
2006.

In addition to the INTERPOL notice, others are weighing in on possible meanings. Jabbar Yaseen and Liz Sly (Washington Post) quote
the Middle East Forum's Aymenn al-Tamimi stating, "This is a
significant milestone in the resurgence of al-Qaeda in Iraq,” he said.
“A good deal of the progress achieved from 2006 onwards has essentially
been undone now.” David Blair (Telegraph of London) observes, "The mass breakout from two of Iraq’s biggest prisons
is yet more evidence of how close the country is to suffering the
terrible sectarian bloodshed of 2006-07 once again. [. . .] The
increasingly poisonous and sectarian nature of Iraqi politics – with
Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, purging Sunnis from his government
– is leading to greater alienation and violence."

The break outs and the increased violence are also prompting comments from Iraqis. Sunday,
Cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr has already decried the
'leadership' that has allowed the problems to emerge and thrive. Today,
All Iraq News reports
National Dialogue Front MP Haidar al-Mulla is calling for Nouri
al-Maliki to be replaced as a result of "his failure in running the
security file." Mulla is quoted stating, "All realize well the failur
of the CGAF in running the security institution in light of the
continuing security breaches over the past eight years especially after
Maliki dominated the management of this file without engaging any other
side. The one-sided administration of the security file proved failure,
so the issue needs changing the CGAF and his strategy and plans."
Nouri should be held accountable for the security failures. He is over
the security ministries having refused to nominate anyone to head them.
Over a year ago, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed,
"Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has struggled to forge a lasting
power-sharing agreement and has yet to fill key Cabinet positions,
including the ministers of defense, interior and national security,
while his backers have also shown signs of wobbling support." These
positions were supposed to be filled no later than December 2010. They
have never been filled. The Constitution requires they be filled for
someone to be moved from "prime minister-designate" to "prime
minister." But the Iraqi Constitution was circumvented by the
US-brokered Erbil Agreement.

The Erbil Agreement was needed because Nouri's State of Law came in
second and Barack was adamant that, the will of the Iraqi people be
damned, Nouri would have a second term.

Having failed at the ballot box, the Constitution couldn't rescue Nouri
so Barack ordered an extra-constitutional measure, The Erbil Agreement,
which would go around the law and provide cover for Nouri. Having given
Nouri a second term not by votes but by a suspect contract, the
Constitution no longer applied. So it didn't matter that Nouri failed to
create a Cabinet in 30 days as the Constitution dictates.

He's continued to refuse to fill those slots. Barack has gone along
with it and babied, stroked and petted his little toy Nouri and in the
process he has screwed Iraq over forever.

Meanwhile someone please find out what John Arquilla is smoking or
snorting and put it out on the open market. Stoned is the only thing
that can explain his column entitled "Why Iraq Was America's Best-Run War" (Foreign Policy).

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA), is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed
collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Federal agencies are required to publish
notice in the Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information, including each proposed new
collection, and allow 60 days for public comment in response to the
notice. This notice solicits comments for information needed to
ascertain and monitor the health effects of the exposure of members of
the Armed Forces to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open
burn pits.

Patricia Kime (Air Force Times) notes,
"The Veterans Affairs Department has extended the deadline for the
public
to comment on its planned registry for service members exposed to
open-air burn pits through Aug. 20." The use of burnpits in Iraq and
Afghanistan has left many veterans and contractors with breathing
difficulties and illnesses. It has left people seriously ill and, in
some cases dead. Burnpit 360 is a resource for those needing more information.

Still on veterans issues, Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the
Senate Budget Committee and the former Chair of the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee. Today her office issued the following:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Murray Press Office

Wednesday, July 24, 2013 (202) 224-2834

Murray Bill to Help Catastrophically Wounded Veterans Start a Family Clears Major Hurdle

Murray calls for quick action on bill to end the VA’s ban on In
Vitro Fertilization which has prevented thousands of veterans with
traumatic brain injury and serious spinal cord or reproductive organ
injuries from accessing fertility care

Last Congress Murray’s bill passed the Senate unanimously only to be stalled in the House of Representatives

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) that ends the ban on in vitro fertilization (IVF) services at VA in order to help severely wounded veterans start families was cleared through the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Senator Murray’s bill, the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvement Act of 2013, also builds upon previous law to improve VA services for women veterans and veterans with families.

Late last year, Senator Murray was able to pass the bill through the U.S. Senate after delivering an impassioned speech
on the Senate floor describing the challenges veterans and their
families face in accessing IVF. Unfortunately, the bill failed to move
in the House of Representatives in time to make its way to the
President’s desk after Republican leaders there expressed opposition.
Working with advocates and military families, like Staff Sergeant Matt Keil and his wife Tracy, Sen. Murray is pushing for the Senate to once again immediately take up and pass this legislation.

“There is absolutely no reason that this bill should not move quickly to the President’s desk,” said

Senator Murray.
“It was passed unanimously in the Senate, and the House has a
responsibility to our most seriously wounded veterans and their spouses
to act. This is about giving veterans who have sacrificed everything,
every option we have to help them fulfill the simple dream of starting a
family. It says that we are not turning our back on the catastrophic
reproductive wounds that have become a signature of these wars. It says
to all those brave men and women that didn’t ask questions when they
were put in harm’s way that we won’t let politics get in the way of our
commitment to you. We owe them nothing less.”

Last year, the New York Times ran an editorial emphasizing the importance of providing these services saying:

“In more than a
decade of combat overseas, the military and V.A. have continually had to
adjust to the challenges of new traumas with new treatments, as with
the epidemic of brain injuries and post-traumatic stress. Adapting the
V.A. health system to better meet reproductive-health needs should be
part of that response. It is one compassionate way to fulfill the
country’s duty to wounded veterans.”

Department
of Defense (DOD) data show that between 2003 and 2012 nearly 2000
servicemembers have suffered reproductive and urinary tract trauma. The
reliance on foot patrols in Afghanistan and the prevalence of improvised
explosive devices has left servicemembers far more susceptible to these
injuries. In fact, these data show a clear increase in injuries of this
nature in recent years.

Veterans
who have severe reproductive and urinary tract injuries and spinal cord
injuries (SCI) often need highly specialized treatments and procedures
like IVF to conceive. However, under current law, IVF is expressly
excluded from fertility services that are provided by the VA to veterans
or their spouses. This is a significant barrier for veterans with SCI
and genital and urinary tract injuries and as a result they have to seek
care outside of the VA. DOD currently provides access to IVF services
under the Tricare program and coverage for IVF and other fertility
treatments at no charge to severely combat wounded servicemembers.
Senator Murray’s bill would provide veterans with the same access.

About Me

I'm a black working mother. I love to laugh and between work and raising kids, I need a good laugh. I'm also a community member of The Common Ills. Shout outs to any Common Ills community members stopping by. Big shout out to C.I. for all the help getting this started. I am not married to Thomas Friedman, credit me with better taste, please. This site is a parody.